Photo: Calvin Beale · Public domainVernon Township’s library is a branch of Jackson County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 59% of systems its size
Vernon Township’s library is the Crothersville Library, a branch of Jackson County Public Library, which serves 39,103 people and lent 178K items last year.
The short version on Vernon Township’s library
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Vernon Township branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
78% of the 1,067 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 14 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Vernon Township’s library is a branch of Jackson County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (39,103 people), not just the Vernon Township branch.
What’s behind Vernon Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Vernon Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #538 of 571 in Indiana. Vernon Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$81K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Vernon Township
1.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.1%
7.1% of Vernon Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.1% in the typical Indiana town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Vernon Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Jackson County Public Library serves 39,103 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jackson County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
178K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
58,094 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 16 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Crothersville Library, 120 East Main Street, Crotherville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jackson County Public Library branch.
New in Vernon Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Vernon Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 7,500 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Township | Crothersville Library fine-free | — | 18 | C− |
| Jennings Township | Austin Branch Library | — | 21 | C− |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Grassy Fork Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Gibson Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Finley Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Marion Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Crothersville Library is one branch of Jackson County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 39,103 people it serves.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Vernon Township
Does Vernon Township have a public library?
Yes: Crothersville Library, 120 East Main Street, is a branch of Jackson County Public Library, which serves 39,103 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jackson County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Vernon Township’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Vernon Township’s civic life grade?
C− Vernon Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #538 of 571 in Indiana. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Vernon Township.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.